Shining a spotlight on FBI's 'Most Wanted'

Howard Jay Barnard, who was No. 178 to be included on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in the 1960s, was described in a Maine newspaper in 1963 as a "robbery specialist, disguise expert and highly skilled escape artist." He was finally arrested in 1964 in Sacramento. COURTESY OF THE FBI

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list

• 500 names included since it began on March 14, 1950

•470 have been apprehended or located

•155 fugitives located or captured as a result of citizen cooperation

•Billie Austin Bryant, No. 295, spent the shortest time on the list: two hours

•Oldest person listed was James J. "Whitey" Bulger, 69.

•Eight women have been on the list

•A minimum reward of $100,000 is offered.

•15 people placed on the list have been removed because they "no longer met the criteria."

Source: FBI

The day after Walter Lee Williams became the 500th name added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, agents zeroed in on him.

Williams, a former professor at the University of Southern California, was charged with sexual exploitation of children and traveling to the Philippines to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He was arrested this week in Mexico and arrived in Los Angeles late Wednesday.

It was an unusually quick outcome for the famed Most Wanted list, but nowhere near the fastest capture. Billie Austin Bryant, No. 295, was caught two hours after he was added to the list.

Of the 500 names that have been placed on the list, 470 of them have been caught or located. In its 63 years of existence the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list has been a roster of some of the nation's most notorious bank robbers, murderers, terrorists and mobsters.

It has been a high-profile tool to focus public attention on suspects on the lam.

According to the FBI, the agency's first Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list was compiled after a reporter inquired about the "toughest guys" being sought by federal agents. The agency maintained the list since 1950 because of the publicity it brought the bureau and the suspects its agents were pursuing.

Inclusion means instant notoriety for the men and women on it. Less than 10 percent escape apprehension.

Twenty-two of those 500 criminals have committed crimes in the greater Los Angeles area, according to the FBI.

None of them have been wanted for crimes committed in Orange County, although one violent robber with a knack for disguise honed his criminal skills in Huntington Beach.

Howard Jay Barnard, No. 178, was described in a Maine newspaper in 1963 as a "robbery specialist, disguise expert and highly skilled escape artist." It also noted he had been arrested twice by the FBI, including once in Huntington Beach in 1955.

He was finally taken into custody in 1964 in Sacramento, where he lived up to his reputation. He was wearing two sets of clothes, makeup and had cotton stuffed up his nose and mouth to disguise his face, according to the FBI.

Though none of the suspects on the list started their criminal careers in Orange County, two of them found the county to be the end of the road:

•James John Byrnes, No. 305, wanted for escape, kidnapping and armed robbery, was arrested in Huntington Beach in 1970, according to the FBI.

•Agents also caught up with Francis John Martin, No. 346, in Newport Beach in 1977, a man wanted for escape, rape, and kidnapping. He was put back behind bars thanks to a tip from a telephone call.

NABBED IN A WOMEN'S RESTROOM

Some of the fugitives go to extraordinary means to escape capture. In 1952, for example, Isaie Aldy Beausoleil, No. 33, was found wearing women's clothing and acting suspiciously in a woman's restroom, according to the FBI.

Williams, the USC professor, was questioned by FBI agents in 2011, but officials said the former anthropology and gender- studies professor headed south and disappeared. Williams was known as a frequent traveler, and Bill Lewis, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office, noted he had the financial means to travel extensively.

At least 10 victims between the ages of 9 and 17 have been identified, and officials said many of them live in Third World countries that Williams visited – including the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. More charges may be forthcoming.

Of the 500 names that have been listed by the FBI, 470 of them have been located or taken into custody, including 47 who were found in foreign countries.

Leo Joseph Koury was one of the few who eluded authorities until his death.

Related Links

Howard Jay Barnard, who was No. 178 to be included on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in the 1960s, was described in a Maine newspaper in 1963 as a "robbery specialist, disguise expert and highly skilled escape artist." He was finally arrested in 1964 in Sacramento. COURTESY OF THE FBI
James Earl Ray, No. 277 to be included on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, was placed there after killing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. COURTESY OF THE FBI
James John Byrnes, No. 305 on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, was wanted for escape, kidnapping and armed robbery. He was arrested in 190 in Huntington Beach, according to the FBI. COURTESY OF THE FBI
Francis John Martin was the 346th name added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. FBI agents captured Martin - who was wanted for escape, rape and kidnapping - in 1977 in Newport Beach. COURTESY OF THE FBI
Leo Joseph Koury was No. 366 to be added to the FBI's most wanted list in 1979. Koury was suspected of murder and racketeering, but authorities didn't catch up with him until 1991 after he died in a San Diego hospital of a brain hemorrhage. COURTESY OF THE FBI
Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was the 436th name to be added to the FBI's list. He was arrested in 1995, tried, convicted and given two life sentences. COURTESY OF THE FBI
Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., was No. 456 on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was killed by Navy Seal forces in Pakistan in 2011. COURTESY OF THE FBI
James "Whitey" Bulger was taken into custody in 2011 in Santa Monica after he was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1999. He was the oldest person to be included in the list. COURTESY OF THE FBI
Isaie Aldy Beausoleil, No. 33 on the FBI's most wanted list, was captured in 1952 wearing women's clothing, according to the FBI. COURTESY OF THE FBI
Walter Lee Williams, a former USC professor, was included on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list Monday, the 500th name included in the list since it was started in 1950. He was arrested in Mexico and arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday. COURTESY OF THE FBI

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